KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - With Tennessee playing strong defense, Brittney Griner realized that just her presence on the court wouldn't be enough for Baylor to win this one.

So the preseason All-American focused just a little harder, and Griner scored 17 of her 26 points in the second half as the top-ranked Lady Bears pulled out a 76-67 win over the No. 6 Lady Volunteers.

"I was just listening to my coaches and getting on myself, 'Get deep, get deep, get the ball and go up strong,' " Griner said.

Baylor entered the game averaging 53.8 rebounds per contest, but Tennessee outmanned the Lady Bears on the glass 55-42. The second chances weren't enough with the Lady Vols shooting just 29.3 percent, however.

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Baylor has beaten Tennessee in three consecutive seasons now, despite the Lady Vols holding the rebounding advantage in each of those games.

"We took their best shot," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "How many games are you going to get outrebounded as much as we did, particularly on the offensive end, and win?"

Tennessee took a 39-31 lead on Glory Johnson's free throw with 17:39 left, but Griner had a pair of layups in an 11-2 run for the Lady Bears. The second gave Baylor a 42-41 lead with 15 minutes left.

Baylor (6-0) shot just 34.5 percent in the first half but hit 48.4 percent after the break as Griner fought her way to the basket more. With every made layup, Griner seemed to relax a little more, and a layup by Griner with 8:32 to play gave Baylor its ultimate lead.

The Lady Vols tried doubling up on Griner at times, which only opened up opportunities for Sims and Madden. Sims hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 to go, and Madden had a trey of her own with 6:21 to play that gave Baylor a 59-55 lead.

Tennessee (2-2) pulled within four points off a pair of free throws by Johnson with 2:03 left but would get no closer. On Baylor's next possession, Griner took an inbound pass with 2 seconds on the shot clock and cleanly sank a jumper from the free-throw line at the buzzer for a 67-61 lead with 1:32 left.